“They’re all pretty much the same,” Raven said.
“What color do you want them?” Brodie asked.
“I was thinking maybe blue?” Raven said. “Or a soft yellow might be warmer and brighter, like sunshine inside.”
“Dusty rose,” Mia said. “It’s warm but not too bright. It’ll make the rooms feel bigger.”
“Dusty rose?” Brodie echoed. “Seriously?”
“I’ll send up some art for the walls. And some linens.”
Mia’s assistant, Dara-Leigh, had been disappointed when Veronica was assigned to decorate the office. So Mia had offered the matchmaking project décor as a consolation prize. To Mia’s surprise, Dara-Leigh had been thrilled and was already shopping for ideas.
“I’ll give your contact information to my assistant down here,” Mia said. “Dara-Leigh’s offered to help, and she’s got a good flare.”
“You don’t mean mine,” Brodie said.
“Mine?” Raven echoed, sounding doubtful.
“I was thinking Breena’s,” Mia said.
“Good choice,” Raven said, relieved.
“Is this going to be all frilly?” Brodie asked.
Mia chuckled. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
Brodie’s heavy sigh came through loud and clear. “Well, won’t that be popular with the guys.”
* * *
* * *
As Mia ended the call, Silas bloomed in her mind. She was catapulted back to the town, back to his arms, back to every single thing they’d done together.
She missed him desperately, and she missed Paradise too. Dealing with it at work was bad enough, but at least there she had distractions. Home was even worse. Her house seemed so empty now, hollowly opulent, ridiculously large. Her own voice echoed back from her in every gilded room.
She couldn’t even picture Alastair anymore. When she tried, Silas filled the frame. Not that she could imagine Silas in his work boots, flight suit and WSA cap traipsing through that meticulously decorated monument to fine art.
He’d hate it.
She pretty much hated it now too. She knew she had to move out, buy something smaller, a condo or a penthouse closer to the office. But her days were busy, and at night she couldn’t seem to muster up the energy to look for new places.
Restless, she left her office and headed down the hall.
A movement caught her eye, and she drew up short. Hannah was inside her office, sitting at the meeting table deep in conversation with Henry. The pair had been in the office only a handful of times over the past three years, so Mia’s suspicions immediately rose.
She may have decided against purging the staff, but that didn’t mean Henry and Hannah were free to continue meddling in the company. No chance of that. And she was setting the ground rules right here and now.
She gave a sharp courtesy rap and opened the office door to walk in.
They both stopped talking and looked up in surprise.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.” Mia shut the door behind her for privacy and strode to the middle of the office.
They exchanged glances.
“We need to get a few things straight,” Mia said.
“Would you like to sit down?” Hannah asked.
The offer took Mia by surprise and temporarily pushed her off her game. “No, thank you. First, I’d appreciate it if you let me know when you planned to visit the office. Second, I want a heads up on any meetings you have with the vice presidents or the department managers. Third, if you’re attending any event on behalf of Lafayette Fashion, I want a chance to discuss it in advance.”
“Mia,” Hannah said.
“Fourth,” Mia said, letting her tone tell them she was annoyed by the interruption. “Although I’m not purging the senior staff—no thanks to you two—I will be watching. Some of them are on probation for a while.”
“We’re not here to get in your way.” Henry’s tone was deferential, not the least bit combative.
Mia wasn’t buying it. “Right.”
Hannah rose. “We accept the judge’s decision.”
Henry rose too.
Mia looked from one to the other, trying to interpret their expressions. They looked sincere, but that didn’t mean much. She’d lived through years of the twins’ and their mother’s conniving ways.
“We just want to be involved,” Hannah said.
“Involved how?” Mia asked.
This wasn’t making sense. The twins had never shown an interest in the company before. They just took their salaries and ran. They had to be up to something here.
“Supply chain management,” Henry said. “I’m no designer, but I’ve watched Dad stick with the same old suppliers year after year, never even considering what else was out there that might be an improvement or a cost savings, India, for example.”
“You’ve watched?” Mia was completely baffled now.
“We have access to the entire company computer system,” Hannah said.
“You made use of it?” Mia asked, trying to wrap her head around the idea that the two had done anything other than travel and party since college.
“We’ve stuck with the same target demographic forever,” Hannah said. “Our customers are getting older. Older people buy fewer clothes.”
“Lafayette is a classic designer.” Mia didn’t know why she was explaining, except maybe that they’d taken her by surprise.
“That’s a pathway to oblivion,” Hannah said. “Whereas Shanghai and São Paulo—”
“I knew that was you two.”
“Are up and coming,” Hannah continued, ignoring the interruption. The enthusiasm level in her voice increased with every sentence. “I’ve been watching them for years. We have a new designer on staff, Emille Castille. She’s a perfect match for São Paulo, and—”
“What?” Mia looked back and forth between them, wondering if this was some kind of a practical joke.
“Emille works under Jo Bouvier, but I think she’d do better with a young adult focus.”
Mia reached for the back of a chair and pulled it out to sit down.
Hannah sat too. “There’s another designer, Werner Faux. He’s freelancing, but his work has been so phenomenal that I’d like to make him an offer. I can show you his portfolio.”
“It’s not just the fabric and designs,” Henry jumped in as he sat down too. “It’s the subcontracting, the store locations and setup, the web interface, even the packaging. There are huge improvements to be made. Have you analyzed the sales channels recently?”
“Have you?” Mia asked.
Henry nodded. “If we make some changes, I’m conservatively projecting a thirty percent increase in business over the next two years. I can show you the numbers.”
“You two are serious.” It was obvious to Mia they were more than just serious. They were keeners. They reminded her of Raven.
“Completely,” Henry said while Hannah nodded.
“Why haven’t you said anything before now? Why didn’t you talk to Alastair?”
They exchanged another look.
“What?” Mia asked.
“We did,” Hannah said.
Mia knew Alastair would have been thrilled to have them involved. “And what did he say?”
“That us being here would upset you.”
Mia’s chest hitched with guilt. “He did?” She’d never meant to keep Alastair from his children.
“He . . . uh . . .” Henry began haltingly. “He told us he talked to you about it.”
“But—” Mia stopped herself. She didn’t want to admit Alastair had lied to them.
“He never even asked you,” Henry said with conviction.
“I guess we deserved that,” Hannah said.
“We were pretty nasty,” Henry said.
&n
bsp; “I don’t hold that against you,” Mia quickly put in. Oddly, she didn’t. She had for a lot of years, but somehow the resentment had faded.
She realized they’d been kids back then, naturally hostile against the teenager their father was marrying. And she’d been so defensive, so busy trying to hide her insecurities and pretend she was perfect that she hadn’t let anyone know the real her, not even Alastair.
Ironically, almost amusingly, and out of necessity really, Raven had come closest to seeing the true Mia, the flawed and awkward Mia. Well, Raven and Silas. Silas had gotten to know her better than anyone ever had.
He bloomed in her mind again, amused by her, patient with her, forcing his way past her veneer to reveal her flaws. And then he’d laugh at them and they wouldn’t seem so bad.
And he’d had faith. That one last time on the radio when the chips were down and his life hung in the balance, he’d truly put his faith in her.
She felt an urge to run to him now, to hop on the next plane and fling herself into his arms. She wouldn’t even care if she never came back. Her old life was gone.
“Do you want the house?” she asked the twins.
They both stilled and pasted her with identical looks of stupefaction.
“What did you say?” Henry asked.
“You want it? You grew up there—well, at first anyway—and it’s way too big for me.” As soon as the words were out, she knew it was the right thing to do.
She wanted a simpler life. In fact, the simpler life she thought she wanted was beginning to frighten her.
Chapter Sixteen
Lying in his bed, Silas could still feel Mia in his arms. In his truck, he could hear her voice. And in the air, he could see her smiling profile as she gazed down at the majesty of Alaska’s valleys. He couldn’t get away from her—not at the airstrip, not at Galina, and definitely not in the Bear and Bar.
So, when he couldn’t avoid a trip to Wildflower Lake Lodge, he prepared himself for the worst. And he got it. Standing on the boardwalk gazing at the chalets, their entire night together replayed in his mind.
She’d liked it here. She’d fit better in the luxury chalet than she had anywhere else in Alaska. Then, because he was feeling particularly masochistic, he walked all the way to the south creek villa.
The door to it was open, the screen door shut. And there were two towels on the front porch loungers. Obviously someone was staying there.
He didn’t want to be rude, so he didn’t stop. But he slowed his pace, pictured her in the big shower, in that white bathrobe, curled up on the sofa. Then he rounded a curve and the villa went out of sight.
He heard a compressor running and the distinctive bang-bang of a nail gun. Around the corner he came across the wood building frame of a new villa.
“Hey, Silas,” Danny called from across the construction site. Hard hat on his head, he picked his way through the lumber, gravel piles, sawhorses and power tools. “Didn’t expect you today.”
“Tristen cut his finger. I had to sub in.”
“Hope it’s not bad.”
“Nurse was giving him a couple of stitches. He’ll be fine.”
“Good to hear.” Danny gazed up at the frame with Silas.
“Will this be the same as the others?” Silas asked.
“A tried-and-true design,” Danny said. “Good for shedding snow, efficient to heat, and my guy’s built so many of them, he and his crew have it down to an art. You staying?”
“No, not tonight.”
“You alone?” Danny peered past Silas to look down the boardwalk.
“Sorry to say, I am.”
“I bet you’re sorry,” Danny said with a grin. “Mia was too good for you.”
“She was,” Silas agreed. He nodded at the wood frame. “What do these things run you?”
“Out here?” Danny blew out a breath. “They cost a small fortune.”
“What about in town?” An idea was formulating in Silas’s mind. It was just an idea, not something he was seriously contemplating; at least not yet. But it was an idea.
“In Paradise? For you?”
“Yeah. The staff housing feels cramped in the winter.”
“You’re probably looking at a couple hundred per square foot, more depending on the finishing. You want a stone fireplace and lots of glazing?”
“Probably,” Silas said. Since it was only a dream, he might as well go for broke. “What’s the square footage on your plan?”
“Just under twenty-four hundred. That’s with the expanded kitchen and nook. You serious?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
“I can give you the plans, no problem. You want to talk to Michael?”
“Not yet.” Silas didn’t want to waste the builder’s time.
Danny reached into his shirt pocket. “Take his card. You can call if you have questions.”
Silas accepted. “Thanks. Better take off.”
“See you.” Danny gave a wave as he started back to the villa.
Silas walked past the south creek villa once more, took the trail up to the airstrip and climbed into the plane, all the while thinking about Mia. He tried to imagine her expression if he asked her to live in Paradise. Would she smile, frown, laugh, assume he was joking?
Probably. If he was her, he’d assume it was a joke. The thought of her leaving her perfect LA life, along with the successful fashion business she’d just fought tooth and nail to keep, was ludicrous.
By the time he landed at WSA, he knew his dream was just that: a ludicrous pipedream. Mia wasn’t coming back to Alaska. If Silas wanted to be with her, he’d have to go to LA. But that idea was almost as absurd as Mia coming here.
Almost.
He tied down the plane and crossed the parking lot, trying to imagine what a bush pilot would do in downtown Los Angeles. Wait tables, probably.
“No thank-you bottle of wine this time?” Brodie asked as Silas walked into the office.
“She didn’t even offer,” Silas said, crossing to the fridge for a bottle of beer.
“She must not need anything from us,” Brodie said, straightening away from the reception desk, where he’d been leaning while reading an invoice. “That right tire hold air okay?”
“I checked after landing. It’s good.” Silas kept going, grabbed the beer and straddled a chair at one of the lounge tables.
Brodie followed and took a seat across from him. “Raven says WSA guys can use four of the rooms in the Galina housing. T and T-Two offered to share.”
“You’re being very helpful all of a sudden.”
Brodie’s attitude had done a one-eighty.
He shrugged. “Mia’s got us painting the units dusty rose. But don’t worry, we’re not taking over your place.”
Mia again.
“Is she coming up?” Silas asked, trying not to sound hopeful.
“Mia?” Brodie played dumb.
Silas tilted his bottle as if to ask who else?
“Don’t think so.”
Silas let his disappointment settle for a moment. “I don’t know how this is going to work.”
Brodie got up for a beer. “I told you, we’re not using your room.”
“I mean with Mia.”
“Mia’s not coming.” Brodie popped the cap.
“That’s the problem.” It didn’t matter how many ways Silas came at this, he couldn’t accept having Mia out of his life completely and forever. “I don’t see how this works.”
Brodie swung back into his seat. “Women come to Paradise, the guys meet them. After that, it’s pretty much up to biology or fate or whatever.”
“I mean Mia.”
Brodie took a drink, obviously waiting for more information.
“I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“It hasn’t been th
at long.”
“The more time that goes by, the worse it gets.” Silas was too embarrassed to tell Brodie about his house-building fantasy. “Thing is, I don’t know if I can let her go.”
“You want to go get her and bring her back?”
“I think she’d have to be willing.”
“I can lend you a plane. But it’s illegal to bring her unwillingly across state lines.”
Silas chuckled. “Probably not our best plan.”
“Nope. You want me to get Raven to help?”
Silas shook his head. “I can’t see Mia staying long-term in Alaska.”
Brodie was contemplative. “That would be . . . surprising.”
“Yeah.” Silas took a beat. “But I also don’t think I can let her go.”
“You just said—” Brodie sat up straight. “Oh no. Oh no you don’t.”
“I haven’t figured out how it could work. I mean, a bush pilot, in LA?”
“That’s nuts, Silas.”
“They have, like, national forests and things around there, right?”
“I need you here.”
“She’s there.” Silas took a drink. He’d feel terrible leaving Brodie, but he couldn’t see another way.
“You can’t up and follow a woman to California.”
“I thought about building her a house here in town. Danny offered me the plans for a three-bedroom villa. They’re nice. Mia would like it.”
“There you go.” Brodie gestured with his beer bottle.
“It would still be in Paradise, though, where there’s nothing for her. No restaurants.”
“The Bear and Bar.”
“No clubs.”
“You can dance on the deck.”
“No nightlife.”
“Aurora Borealis.”
Silas frowned. “You know what I mean.”
“Not all women are like your mom.”
Silas shook his head. “Most of them are.”
Brodie didn’t argue. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“What if I haven’t?” Silas was seriously considering that possibility. What if it turned out Mia was more important to him than his bush-flying career? What did he do then?
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